Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the star campaigner of BJP, is once again back in his hometown, ahead of the first phase of polls due on 9 Dec. The Prime Minister addressed a rally in Dhandhuka, Netrang and Dahod on Wednesday, 6 December. The campaigns scheduled for 5 Dec were canceled due to the Cyclone Ockhi’s expected landfall.
In wake of the Cyclone Ockhi, forwarding towards the Gujarat coast, the political parties were forced to cancel their rallies and roadshows, including those by BJP chief Amit Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari’s roadshow in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad was also canceled due to light showers. The rallies and press conferences to be held by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Yogi Adityanath in Surat on Tuesday were also postponed.
However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday 5 Dec predicted that the cyclone is gradually weakening into a depression and may not hit the Gujarat coast near Surat. Ahead of the rally, Narendra Modi tweeted that he would be addressing rallies in Dhandhuka, Dhaod, and Netrang in Gujarat.
Will be in Gujarat today, where I would address rallies in Dhandhuka, Dahod and Netrang. @BJP4Gujarat
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 6, 2017
The Prime Minister was scheduled to address the rally in Dhandhuka, near Ahmedabad at 9:30 am, however, it was then shifted to 11 am. Even as the Modi beagn his address. most of the chairs remained empty. Addressing the few who attended the rally, Narendra Modi remembered Dr. BR Ambedkar on his death anniversary. He surely did not leave the chance to pull down on the Congress, even while invoking the death anniversary. “One family has done greatest injustice to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Sardar Patel. When Pandit Nehru’s influence on the Congress was complete, the Congress ensured that Dr. Ambedkar found it tough to join the Constituent Assembly,” he said.
He alleged that the Congress had dishonored both Ambedkar and Sardar Patel and also underlined that the opposition party failed to confer a Bharat Ratna to Ambedkar. Boasting about the achievement of the BJP government in Gujarat and taking a dig at the Congress, Modi accused the Congress of being anti-development. He said that the BJP government had ended the Tanker raj in the Dhandhuka, which was firmly in the hands of Congress leaders and their families.
He further added that the ruling government had succeeded in bringing enough water from Narmada river, to the extent that wells were now overflowing. Attacking the Congress for being anti-development and doing much for the people, Modi highlighted that his government had ensured over 12 lakh electricity transformers, while Congress had managed only 1.5 lakh. He also boasted that the BJP government had made efforts to ensure that the youth of Gujarat get the technology and an increase in the educational institutions. The Prime Minister also added that the law and order situations had improved tremendously under the BJP government over the last two decades.
During the rally, Narendra Modi also brought up the Ayodhya issue underlining the recent appeals made by Kapil Sibal on 5 Dec in the Supreme Court. The Prime Minister raising question on the appeal of Sibal to postpone the hearing until the Lok Sabha elections due in 2019, Modi said that “I have no objection that Kapil Sibal is fighting on behalf of the Muslim community, but how can he say do not find a solution to this (Ayodhya issue) until next election? How is it connected to Lok Sabha elections?”
BJP Party President Amit Shah also taking a dig at Kapil Sibal’s statement tweeted that the Sibal spoke as a Congress leader and not as the lawyer of the Sunni Waqf Board as the board itself deferred from the statements of Sibal. The Prime Minister also alleged that it was only because of the Congress that the Ayodhya issue was being delayed. “Shia, Sunni Waqf boards are agreeable to solve the Ayodhya dispute. Congress is creating impediments in finding solutions to the issue,” he said.
Now that Sunni Waqf Board has said that they don’t agree with what Kapil Sibal said in court, it is certain that Mr. Sibal spoke in his capacity as a Congress leader, with the blessings of their High Command. Shameful posturing by Congress on Ram Temple issue!
— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) December 6, 2017
The Prime Minister also spoke about the recent verdict on the Tripal Talaq, also using it in the favour of the party, even though playing tactfully not to make it a political agenda. He said that, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls, he was advised not to speak about the triple talaq fearing the election results. But he said that “I am clear that on Triple Talaq I will not be silent. Everything is not about elections. This issue is for the rights of women… elections come later, humanity comes first.”
Addressing the rally in Netrang, Narendra Modi said that “They call us a Government of the rich. It is the blessings of the poor that make us rich. Our asset is the hard work of the poor. Our Government worked for tribal welfare, ensured better education, healthcare.”